Softball: Bower, Arrambide continue to impress
That old saying about how it takes one to know one certainly applies to St. Charles East senior Katie Arrambide.
Arrambide provided a bright spot for the Saints in a 2-1 loss to Huntley Friday, homering on a line missile over the center field fence for their only run.
That shot came off Mississippi State bound Bri Bower, a hard-throwing righty who pitched the Red Raiders to the Class 4A state title over the Saints and is back to her old tricks this season with a 20-5 record. She certainly was at the top of her game against the Saints, striking out 15, walking none and only allowing 3 hits.
Arrambide, a Division I pitcher in her own right headed to Harvard, knows a thing or two about what makes a good pitcher. She certainly sees it in Bower.
"She has good command. and I think she's very composed," Arrambide said. "If she gets rattled it's not easy to see and I think being a pitcher that's a very valuable thing to have is your demeanor."
Arrambide hit her home run in the fifth inning, and she came up again in the seventh with a chance to tie the game.
This time Bower won the battle, striking out Arrambide looking on the inside corner on a 3-2 pitch. Arrambide said she noticed the adjustments, getting a changeup for the first time and Bower also changing locations going up and inside during the at-bat after throwing outside her first two trips.
"She changed levels as a good pitcher does," Arrambide said.
"I just attacked her. She fouled a few off and I threw inside and hoped to get her there," said Bower, adding about the home run earlier: "I left it down the middle and she took it. Props to her."
About the only thing missing in the well-played battle between the 21-4 Saints and 22-6 Raiders was a chance to see Arrambide in the circle against Bower - the same two pitchers who dueled in the 1-0 2019 state championship game.
Arrambide threw the day before against St. Charles North and has been rotating with Izzy Howe, who was excellent in her own right against Huntley with 11 strikeouts while allowing just 4 hits and no earned runs.
"Honestly it doesn't matter," Arrambide said of not pitching. "I think it could have been cool to pitch but I don't wish I had given I pitched yesterday and it wasn't my time and I don't see it as much of a rematch given the rosters have changed so much. Would it have been cool for me and Bri to match up again? Yeah, but the game as a whole I think it was another opportunity for our team to see good pitching and get better and I think we did that."
Both Huntley coach Mark Petryniec and Saints coach Jarod Gutesha have put together killer schedules. The Saints played three more times Saturday to cap an 8-game week, and next Saturday they will welcome Marist and Barrington to St. Charles for two more marquee matchups.
"In 2019 we did the same thing," Gutesha said. "(Bower) is a very good pitcher and is going to get plenty of strikeouts. You aren't going to score 10 runs off her. You are going to have to win 1-0, 2-1.
"That's why you have as many games as you can against good pitching and good teams because if you are not facing that top level pitching, if you have never seen it, you are going to be panicked in a postseason game. I'm happy with the way the kids battled."